Ryan ten Doeschate lands new role less than 24 hours after BCCI officially announces India exit: ‘Excited to be back’

Ryan ten Doeschate has returned to the Knight Riders as head of cricket strategy, a day after the BCCI confirmed his departure from India's coaching staff.

Updated on: Jul 29, 2026, 11:24:30 IST

Written by Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Ryan ten Doeschate has returned to the Knight Riders fold, with Knight Riders Sports appointing the former Netherlands international as its head of cricket strategy, a day after the BCCI confirmed the end of his stint with the Indian men’s team.

Ryan ten Doeschate has joined the Knight Riders as the Head of cricket strategy. (X images)

In the network-wide role, ten Doeschate will oversee the strategic direction of scouting, player recruitment, squad planning and performance evaluation across the Knight Riders franchises. He will also work closely with the coaching and analytics teams to establish a consistent cricketing philosophy across the group.

Ten Doeschate will additionally serve as assistant coach for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the International League T20 and Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket.

“We are delighted to welcome Tendo back to the Knight Riders family. His deep understanding of our philosophy, combined with his experience across franchise and international cricket, makes him ideally suited for this role,” Knight Riders Sports CEO Venky Mysore said. “He will help shape the next phase of growth across the Knight Riders ecosystem.”

Ten Doeschate said the position offered him an opportunity to strengthen the organisation’s recruitment and player-development structures while helping formulate a long-term strategy across its global teams. “I’m excited to be back with the Knight Riders in this role. This is a unique opportunity to work with the coaching & analytics teams across our global franchises to strengthen our scouting/player development systems, and to build a long-term cricket strategy,” he said.

Ten Doeschate returns to familiar surroundings

The appointment comes immediately after ten Doeschate’s contract as India’s assistant coach ended following the white-ball tour of England earlier this month. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that the board had not extended his contract and would appoint a replacement.

Ten Doeschate had earlier informed the board of his desire to leave the Indian set-up, with the demands of the international calendar and the extensive travel involved reportedly influencing his decision. He had been personally selected by India head coach Gautam Gambhir to join his support staff in 2024.

His move back to the Knight Riders represents a return to an organisation with which he has shared a long association. Ten Doeschate played for Kolkata Knight Riders between 2011 and 2015 and was part of their IPL title-winning squads in 2012 and 2014. He later returned to the franchise as a member of its coaching staff and worked as KKR’s fielding coach during its run to the 2024 IPL title. He subsequently left the franchise to join Gambhir in the Indian team set-up.

Also Read: Ryan ten Doeschate's India chapter ends: Gautam Gambhir's trusted lieutenant heads back to KKR after England tour

His latest position, however, carries a wider mandate than a conventional franchise coaching appointment. Rather than being attached solely to KKR, ten Doeschate will now help shape recruitment, development and performance strategy across the Knight Riders’ expanding global network.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Probuddha Bhattacharjee
Probuddha Bhattacharjee is a sports writer and analyst with expertise spanning cricket, football, and multi-sport events, with a strong emphasis on data-driven journalism and tactical storytelling. He currently focuses on international cricket, the Indian Premier League, global tournaments, and emerging trends shaping modern sport, blending advanced statistics with strong narrative context to explain performance, strategy, and decision-making. His work aims to bridge the gap between numbers and storytelling, helping readers understand not just what happened on the field, but the tactical and structural reasons behind it. Trained in data journalism through the Google News Initiative (GNI) Data Journalism Lab, Probuddha works extensively with ball-by-ball datasets, performance metrics, and trend-based modelling to produce evidence-backed reports, explainers, and long-form features. His analytical approach focuses not only on outcomes but also on process—selection strategies, phase-wise tactics, workload management, and the influence of preparation and planning on match results. He is particularly interested in how statistical patterns reshape conventional cricketing narratives and provide clearer tactical insight for modern audiences. Beyond cricket, Probuddha has written analytical and news-driven pieces on football and other major sporting events, with a growing interest in sports governance, scheduling dynamics, and the economics of elite competitions. He also tracks how rule changes, franchise structures, and broadcast pressures influence the evolution of contemporary sport. He has previously contributed to platforms such as OneCricket, Sportskeeda, and CrickTracker, and continues to specialise in analytical storytelling, live coverage, and audience-focused reporting. His work prioritises clarity, context, and credibility, while consistently exploring innovative ways to present data through accessible narratives and structured match analysis.Read More

Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams and players on Hindustan Times.